The Storm
by VanInBlack
Summary: When tragedy strikes, will Emily and Dave survive the storm? - Written for the "Endings, New Beginnings and Starting Over Challenge" on the Country Song Prompt Challenge Forum.


_**A/N: Here's my contribution to the Endings, New Beginnings and Starting Over Challenge on the Country Song Prompt Challenge Forum. **_

_**I chose Rossi and Prentiss as a pairing and was assigned the song "The Storm" by Garth Brooks. Special thanks to the author who suggested this song! I didn't know it before, but can't even begin to describe how much I fell in love with this song!**_

_**There will be a sequel to this story called "The Storm Is Over". Please check this out as well once I've posted it. **_

_**Disclaimer: CM and its characters belong to CBS/ABC/the producers and writers and whoever I've currently forgotten, certainly not to me...**_

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><p><strong>The Storm<strong>

It wasn't just a storm, it was a goddamn hurricane that broke down on her when it all fell apart. And she just sat there, in shock, wondering how they had ended up like this. It took him all but ten minutes to destroy everything they'd had together, before he slammed the door behind himself and left.

When reality sunk in, Emily broke down on the floor between shattered picture frames and torn photographs.

But was it really just him that could be blamed?

"Mark my words, Emily," her mother had said only hours before their wedding. "This man will lead you straight into misery and heartbreak."

Emily couldn't believe that her mother had been right, even though she knew that technically, it was neither his nor her own fault that their hearts were broken. But the fallout, that was her own fault, that much she knew now.

If only she had listened. The signs had all been there. She could have prevented all of this if she had only opened her eyes. She should have seen how much he was hurting, too. She should have noticed before it was too late.

But she had been so wrapped up in her own pain that she'd completely ignored his.

She had it coming, that's what she knew now.

And she had no idea how to fix it. Or if there was actually a way to fix it.

* * *

><p><em>*flashback*<em>

"_I'm so sorry, Emily," JJ whispered barely audible, her voice thick with tears as she drew her friend into a tight hug. _

_Emily and Dave had done their best to hold it together during the funeral and the gathering at their house afterward, but once everyone except for JJ and Hotch had gone home, they both lost it. _

_Dave grabbed a bottle of Scotch and blindly stormed off to his home office with Hotch not far behind, who was hoping to find a way to keep his best friend from downing the whole bottle at once. _

_Once they were out of sight, Emily broke down in JJ's arms. _

_JJ and Aaron both knew that all they could do was to be there for their friends and offer comfort. They would, however, never be able to take their pain away. They could only offer their support, offer to share the load and hope it would somehow make the pain bearable. _

_Emily and Dave had buried their only child today and all JJ and Aaron could do was to somehow get them through this day and the ones that followed. _

_*end flashback*_

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><p>After their fallout, Dave didn't set a foot back into the house that he and Emily had built for their family. He wasn't strong enough to go there anymore.<p>

He had tried to be her rock, had tried to give her comfort and be there for her, and what did he get in return? Nothing.

It had all been about her pain, about how much she suffered. Not once did she acknowledge that he was suffering just as much. He had lost a son, too, damn it!

If he wanted to survive this, he needed to get out. Otherwise he would crumble under the burden they were supposed to carry together.

How many attempts had he made at trying to save what they had together? How many times had he tried to talk to her, get her to listen to him?

In the end, they were just strangers living in the same house.

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><p><em>*flashback*<em>

"_I love you, Emily," Dave murmured against her lips. _

_With one swift move he rolled them over until he was on top of her. He couldn't believe she was finally his wife. His wife. He had to check for the golden wedding band on his finger to make sure that this was not just a dream. Despite all the obstacles that seemed to stand in their way, they had made it. They were husband and wife, and nothing could ever bring them apart. _

_Gently joining their bodies together, Dave knew that he had finally gotten it right. It had taken him long enough, but in the and it was all worth it. _

_And Emily knew. She felt exactly the same. She might not have been married three times before, but she'd made her fair share of mistakes as well. And with Dave, she finally was complete. _

_When he gently made love to her, it wasn't clear to them where one ended and the other began. They were united, a unity that couldn't be broken anymore, no matter what. _

_*end flashback*_

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><p>She had to go on alone. Somehow, even though Emily didn't know how, did she have to find a way to move on and live her life on her own again.<p>

The storm had been raging and it had left a trail of destruction. Now it was up to her to clean up the mess. Hadn't she always been good at starting her life anew?

"Whenever you need anything, just call me," JJ told her and pulled her into a short embrace.

"I will," Emily replied.

"Are you gonna stay here in the house?"

"For now, yes. At least until I've found something else. It'll be too big for one person alone, I guess."

"Have you talked to Dave again?"

Emily shook her head.

"No. Hotch and his brother were here to get his things."

"Maybe one of us should talk to him again?" JJ suggested.

"Save it, JJ. It's over. And it's better this way. He was right. We couldn't go on like we had."

JJ briefly debated with herself if she should say anything else but realized that would lead to nothing. At least at the moment. They had all tried to talk to Dave and Emily, and get them to talk to each other once more. Morgan, Reid, Garcia, Hotch and herself had started numerous attempts over the last few weeks, but all of them had been in vain.

For now they could just wait and hope that with time they would find a solution.

"Pen and I are just a phone call away if you need someone to talk."

"I know," Emily said and tried to smile. "Thanks."

With one last hug, JJ was out of the door and Emily was alone for the first time in all those weeks since Dave had left. All of her friends – her family – had hovered over her and made sure she was going to be okay, but now Emily needed to make a fresh start on her own again.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to force the tears back. But as she looked around the place she had once called her home, she wasn't sure if that was ever possible. And that realization hit her hard.

* * *

><p><em>*flashback*<em>

"_Emily, come to bed," Dave begged. _

_It was three a.m. and he had once again woken up to find the spot next to him empty and cold. And as always, he'd found Emily in the living room, sitting on the sofa and staring into space. _

"_I'm not tired," she replied. _

_He sighed deeply. _

"_Honey, you can't just sit here every night. Please come back to bed," he all but pleaded. _

"_I said, I'm not tired," Emily bit out through clenched teeth. _

"_Emily, it's been almost seven months -" he started._

_Emily's head shot up. "What? Are you saying that I should just suck it up and get over it?" she screamed. _

"_Emily, no...I-"_

"_I lost my son!" she shrieked. "Nothing will ever be alright again, no matter how much time will pass! I'm sorry if I can't just forget about everything like you do." _

_That was when he lost it. _

"_Sammy was my son, too!" He yelled back. "How dare you insinuate that I forgot about him? How dare you suggest that I am even remotely over his death? If you had looked at me for one second over the last months you would have known that you're not the only one who's hurting! Do you even realize what this is doing to me? Having lost my son and now losing my wife, too? It's only ever been about you and your pain, about your loss! But what about me? I'll tell you what, I can't take this anymore!" _

_When his rant was over, he stroke out and wiped his arm across the mantelpiece, knocking down all of their family pictures they'd put up there. Glass was shattering and then there was a deafening silence in the room. _

_They stared at each other for a long moment until Emily tore her gaze away. _

"_You don't have anything to say?" Dave's voice was quiet now, but the violent desperation from before was still there. _

_Instead of an answer he was greeted with even more silence. _

_That's when he knew it was over. _

_Hanging his head in defeat, he picked up their wedding picture from one of the shattered frames and tore it into pieces. _

"_We're done, Emily," he whispered. _

_Then he turned around and stormed out, slamming the door behind him with an unmistakeable finality. _

_*end flashback*_

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><p>Emily sank down against the door, not able to hold back her tears anymore. And as she wept for everything she had lost, there was only one thought pounding in her head:<p>

"My God, what have I done."

_*finis*_

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><p><strong>AN²: Please don't forget to nominate all your favorite stories for the **_**Profiler's Choice 2011 Fanfic Awards for the Criminal Minds Community. **_**You'll find all the rules and the nomination ballot on the Chit Chat on Author's Corner Forum. **


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